Books Blog : growing up, faith, illnesshttp://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/tags/growing+up/faith/illness/default.aspxTags: growing up, faith, illnessenCommunityServer 2008 SP1 (Build: 30619.63)The Longest Trip Homehttp://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/02/04/the-longest-trip-home.aspxWed, 04 Feb 2009 17:08:00 GMT9a7b961d-7882-4302-b701-732ca0e566f2:1212wag.mado@evpl0http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=1212http://evpl.org/community/blogs/books/archive/2009/02/04/the-longest-trip-home.aspx#comments<p><img width="140" src="http://contentcafe2.btol.com/ContentCafe/Jacket.aspx?UserID=III21&amp;Password=BT0005&amp;Return=T&amp;Type=L&amp;Value=9780061713248" alt="Longest Trip Home" height="167" style="float:left;" />After reading several mixed reviews on <a href="http://evans.evpl.org/record=b1865506*eng" title="The Longest Trip Home">John Grogan&#39;s newest book</a>, I took the plunge and decided I&#39;d see for myself. I really didn&#39;t think there was any way I could like the book as much as the bestselling &quot;<a href="http://evans.evpl.org/record=b1691627*eng" title="Marley and Me">Marley and Me</a>&quot;, but I didn&#39;t think it would be as bad as some of the reviews I read either.</p>
<p>This memoir is mostly a story about growing up Catholic in the 1950&#39;s. Since, I grew up Catholic in the 1950&#39;s, I could relate with almost everything - except being an altar boy. I could also understand how those who did not grow up Catholic may not like the book - and realized how those who are Catholic could be offended or taken aback by Grogan&#39;s feelings about his religious upbringing with extremely devout parents.</p>
<p>The book (which I listened to on <a href="http://evans.evpl.org/record=b1865666*eng" title="audiobook">audio</a>, read by Grogan himself) did have places that seemed to drag on. However, I stayed with it because I never lost my curiosity about where the story was taking me, as Grogan tried to become his own person, living life with a moral code different from his parents.</p>
<p>All that being said - I liked this book. It was an honest, sometimes humorous, sometimes heart wrenching memoir, written by a person who tried to find his own place in the world even when it didn&#39;t follow the path his parents had in mind.&nbsp; In that respect, this could be the life story of many of us.</p>
<p>Oh, and about the book being as good as &quot;Marley?&quot; Heavens no! Not even Grogan himself could upstage that beloved dog.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://evpl.org/community/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1212" width="1" height="1">nonfictionhumorbook discussionsfaithdogsfamiliesmemoirlove storiesillnessgrowing up